How I Met Your Mother Spin-off Moving Forward at CBS

It’s official: CBS has ordered a pilot for “How I Met Your Dad,” a spin-off of “How I Met Your Mother” from Emily Spivey (“Up All Night”) and “Mother” co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. The three will write the script for the pilot and executive produce.

The show will center on an all-new female lead and her own group of friends, but contrary to previous reports, the lead character won’t be introduced in the final episodes of “Mother.”

The project is coming from 20th Century Fox Television, which produces “Mother.”

“How I Met Your Mother,” which stars Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan, is in its ninth and final season.